National outfit of ration dealers call for indefinite countrywide strike from January 1

Ration dealers to press for a slew of demands before state governments and the Centre

Snehamoy Chakraborty, TT, Calcutta, 28.12.23 : A national outfit of ration dealers on Wednesday called for an indefinite countrywide strike from January 1 next year to press for a slew of demands before state governments and the Centre.

If the shops are closed, there will be a major crisis in the public distribution system.

Functionaries of the All India Fair Price Shop Dealers’ Federation, which has a strength of 5.38 lakh ration traders, including around 20,000 in Bengal, will hit the streets in Calcutta and Delhi.

The outfit will organise a day-long demonstration in front of Khadya Bhavan — the state headquarters of the food and supply department — on Friday.

The representatives from all states will hold a convention at Ramlila Maidan on January 16.

“Despite multiple appeals, neither the state governments nor the Centre are interested in looking into our demands,” said Biswambhar Basu, the national general secretary of the federation.

Ensuring a Rs 50,000 per month income for each ration dealer, a permanent solution to mismatches between the physical amount of foodgrain ration dealers receive and the database in the digital system of the food and supply department, and a solution to glitches in the biometric-based distribution system are among the major demands of the federation.